I confess!  The 4th of July is one my favorite holidays.  No, I’m not going to sew myself a homemade American flag dress, or sing the Star Spangled Banner out my apartment window for all of Northeast to hear.  For me, this holiday is about slowing down and being grateful – over a huge slab of ribs and a lot of laughs.

The last few 4th of July parties I’ve been to have lacked one thing, a great cocktail!  So this year I asked Brandon Wise, bartender at Irving St. Kitchen, for a delicious and easy-to-execute cocktail recipe that I can mix up on site (and impress my friends with, of course).

His answer:  Pimm’s Punch.  It’s a classic English summer recipe that’s perfect for a festive BBQ, or cocktail party, and can be done in larger batches – perfect!  Bonus, it’s a gin cocktail and I love gin.

Hey Britain, we don’t want your King, but we’ll sure keep your cocktail!  Check out Brandon’s recipe.

Pimm’s Punch from Brandon Wise of Portland’s Irving St. Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 parts Pimm’s No. 1 (Pimm’s is a gin based spirit that should be available at your local liquor store)

2 parts London Dry Gin

2 parts fresh lemonade

1 part soda water or seltzer

Seasonal fruit salad (Brandon likes to use strawberries, cucumber, lemon and mint, but says you can also use what’s fresh in the garden)

Directions

Mix ingredients together in punch bowl with ice and add your summer fruit salad.

Cool ice cube twist…

Another fun way to use seasonal produce is to take an empty plastic container (or any mold you have around the house), fill it with water and fresh fruit or herbs, and freeze it into a large ice block for the punch bowl.  Keep your eyes open at resale or antique shops for great bargains on vintage punch glasses and punch bowls.

Cocktail, check.

Ribs, not so much. Last year, I was asked to ‘man’ the grill, but was quickly booted back to the veggie station.  This year, I’d like to avoid that… so I asked Irving Street Kitchen’s Chef Sarah Schafer for three simple tips to achieve success on the grill.

Sarah Schafer’s Three BBQ Tips:

1. Injection, injection, injection. With the right combination the flavor cuts right to the bone.  When I inject my ribs I like to use a combination of onion, garlic, Tabasco and butter.

2. Moisture! – when smoking.  When the smoker is full of meat more moisture gets trapped creating more humidity and more tender meat.  You can also use a water pan to add more moisture to the environment.  I like to put ketchup in the smoker to create smoked ketchup.

3. Thighs before breasts.  When cooking chicken remember if separate cook thighs first.  If it is a half chicken, use indirect heat with the thighs pointed toward your fire. This will produce a more evenly cooked bird and a better tasting breast.

Happy 4th everyone!  May your cocktails be balanced, and your grill smokey!

God bless America.